Barclays Tax Beater Cash ISA Does Not Live Up to Promises of Back Dating Interest

I handed my cheque into my local branch on 12 April 07. After 3 weeks I complained I hadn't heard anything and when the Welcome leter arrived the account had been opened on 9 May almost a month after my application had been submitted.

I persistently emailed Barclays complaining bitterley about a month's loss of interest and today have received confirmation the interest has been back dated to the beginning of the tax year, a week before I applied.Calculating it myself they have indeed done so.

My advice is to pester them and don't give in until you have the proof of no loss of ineterst in writing.

I handed my completed application in to my local Barclays branch on 5th April 2007 for the full year beginning 6th April 2007. To date, I have STILL not heard anything!!

I have visited the local branch every month, finally this week they have given me the phone number to check for myself, but I can never get through! I am stuck, if I open an ISA elsewhere I MAY end up with 2 which cannot happen (can't afford it anyway!) and I will lose 3 months interest in this tax year.

I will never be tempted by such an offer again, will stick to NS&I in future.

I applied for one before 5th April 2007 and am still waiting for paper work! My cheque still hasn't been cashed but have been told it will be processed Mid May then, end of June its now nearly end of July.

I opened a tax beater isa in May after handing in my cheque and application in April. It was opened late but i have called the number on the letter and i have been assured that the interest has been backdated.

I have recieved a statement and it has in fact been done. Which is stated on the my statement.

Hi Lilly

A couple of questions.

a. When did you recieve your statement showing the back dated interest.

b. What did the previous documentation that you have recieved state?

Though I am glad that Barclays has done the right thing and honoured their promise of backdating interest, which has not been apparent in earlier correspondances.

I applied for a 2007/08 Tax Beater Cash Isa at a branch of Barclays on 4th April 2007. On 2nd May I received a letter welcoming me to their Mini Cash ISA (not the Tax Beater) from 30th April.

I have not been able to convert this to the Tax Beater but have now been promised an additional sum which (should) make up the shortfall.

Getting responses to letters to Barclays has been difficult and I had to present my problems to a local branch before getting a written, but incomplete, reply to my complaint.

Back to the Halifax next year, I think!

I opened the Tax Beater Cash ISA on 12 April 07 in the full amount and have bank's print-out to prove it. When I received ISA documents the account had 11 May as the opening date. I have disputed this ever since via visits to bank, letters and phone calls (which required utmost patience. At the moment I have an official complaint in which Barclays promise me will be dealt with by 6 May 2008! If Barclays "was inundated with ISA requests" it is their logistical problem not the customers. Are they in business or not?

Foolishly for me I am having the same problem with this year's ISA!

Please see my comments of 22 April. It is 7 May and I have not yet heard back from Barclays on the first ISA on 6 May as promised.

I have received paperwork on the Tax Haven ISA which refers to an opening date of 28 April 2008. This is the same problem all over again I called in at the Westminster branch of Barclays to set up the ISA BEFORE the new tax year (in the full amount) and was told it would be set up as from 6 April 2008.

What is this bank's problem? Or do they hope customers won't mind their tax free savings being short changed?

I wish that I had seen these comments before I applied for the tax haven ISA, every time you enter the bank they push something at you. This was there latest baby. Of course they can offer a high interest rate to catch you as they have the use of your money whilst it is sitting in your current account earning 0.10% not the 6.5% that they are offering so it is in their best interest to be as slow as possible in opening the ISA account.

It is just a ploy to use your money and not pay interest. They then get their staff to say that the interest will be paid from the date of the application.

I wish that I had gone to my building society as in previous years and deposited the money on 7th April and earned interest at a slightly lower rate, I would have been better off. They say will be 8 weeks before complaint looked at as so many have complained!

Well I did get my interest backdated for both 07-08 and 08-09 so I think the bank is doing what the promised to do.

I am very satisfied with the customer service and products from Barclays.

You have to keep in mind the building societies are also not very decent anymore, there is a delay in their processing as well and they try to sell u something new every time u go into a branch.

so they are all the same, but some pay high interest than the others.

My husband and 2 children all opened our accounts together, and we have had the same problem with the opening date being incorrectly recorded, which I pointed out to them. I was told that interest would be back dated. (I was doubtful as paperwork incorrect). I have now (June) received statements which do not show the interest adjustments throughout the year (which I would have expected), and why has my husband got £9 more interest that me?

As an existing Barclays customer I applied online at the beginning of April 2008 for the Tax Haven ISA and deposited the full £3600 in my current account as I expected it to be transfered on April the 6th - the first day of the new tax year.

No problems with the online process as Barclays already have all my details. Got an email response on the 5th April thanking me for my application and that I'd hear from them shortly. No warning of any delay was given.

Then the wait began. After a week or so I asked in my branch and was told quite clearly not to worry as interest would be backdated to the date of application or in my case the first day possible the 6th April.

That sounded fine but then I started hearing about problems.

My ISA was opened on 1st May and money that had sat in my current account transfered. By this time I'd put in a complaint and received two holding letters and most recently one saying that Barclays weren't going to pay interest for the first 14 days.

How on earth can they justify withholding 14 days interest from so many people. They're just going to keep the profit all to themselves the greedy b...t..ds !

I've just checked my account and they have backdated SOME interest but not the first 14 days worth. So for the whole of April which was when the headline rate of 6.5% was applicable I received £6.92 .

This aint good enough, we all need to pressure Barclays to do the right thing and pay the 14 days.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to how to keep this inequity in the media spotlight ? I know the BBC's Moneybox programme has run it, but Barclays haven't budged yet.

Has anyone had the full interest backdated to the date of application ?

I had this exact same thing, depositing money on April 01 2008 for the 2007/08 tax year. Took ages, usual lies about back dating it. Complained, got standard letter back of no relevance, complained again, more lies, until eventually you just get worn down by it.

Since new labour took office everyone is now so used to lies that it's become the norm!

Barclays is the same bank that prefers to borrow oil money at a much higher rate than offered by the British government so they can still pay themselves huge fat bonuses. Once the tax years up I'll be moving my ISA and never go anywhere near Barclays ever again. They've always had a dodgy reputation for destruction in the 3rd world, now they have one at home as well.